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Terror in the Tunnels: Britain's Dangerous Railway History By Rosa Matheson Published by The History Press, 2017 Price £9.99 Reviewed by Alan Payne In her latest book about Britain's dangerous railway history, Rosa Matheson has given our website a most generous tribute, A great local history group, Box People and Places, offered enthusiastic support, interest and helpful material. Her new book is full of surprises about British tunnels in general and Box Tunnel in particular. The book charts the story of railway tunnels from its origins with the Prince of Wales Tunnel in Shildon, Darlington, the oldest sizeable tunnel in the world still in use and the Thames Tunnel built by Mark and Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1843 originally as a pedestrian tunnel under the Thames. |
JC Bourne's illustration of Kilsby Tunnel 1839
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Box Tunnel The question Box Tunnel - Just How Many Lost their Lives? has an amazing collection of newspaper articles listing casualties in the building work at Box. Some were accidents in the blasting of the rock and the handling of explosives but many were shocking accidents such as falling into open shafts: One of the bricklayers employed at Shaft No 5 ... fell some 290 feet. His head was dashed to pieces and his bones broken in the most dreadful manner. On one of the worst days, 18 July 1840 the sides of the pit fell in, killing one man at once and another died during the course of a day. Two more were not expected to recover. This terrible record was repeated in other tunnels built throughout Britain and the ploughing down of workers was also common. Knocked down like so many ninepins was the newspaper headline for an accident on the Crystal Palace Tunnel on the London - Brighton line. Left: JC Bourne Interior of Box Tunnel illustrated in Rosa Matheson's book |
Other Disasters
Rosa's book lists the terrible conditions existing in the building of the railway tunnels and the disasters that befell workers. There were tunnel collapses resulting in men being Buried alive in the Railway Tunnels, a surprising indictment of an industry so highly regulated as the railway companies, particularly the Wallers Ash Tunnel, Winchester, caused by loose chalk, which was evidently pressing upon and deranging the brickwork. Four died and seven men were injured, three severely.
Other disasters arose through the collision of trains, some resulting from signal box errors when one box had seventy-nine separate levers or at Canonbury Tunnel Nearly five ... trains in a tunnel. Explosion, flooding and fire similarly caused work in the railway tunnels to be some of the most dangerous employment of all occupations.
Rosa Matheson's fascinating book recalls life in mid and late Victorian Britain with its grim reality of the cheapness of human life and the lack of standards adhered to by employers. For just £9.99 the 192-page paperback stuffed with fabulous photos makes an ideal gift for dipping into or researching the story of railway tunnels.
Rosa's book lists the terrible conditions existing in the building of the railway tunnels and the disasters that befell workers. There were tunnel collapses resulting in men being Buried alive in the Railway Tunnels, a surprising indictment of an industry so highly regulated as the railway companies, particularly the Wallers Ash Tunnel, Winchester, caused by loose chalk, which was evidently pressing upon and deranging the brickwork. Four died and seven men were injured, three severely.
Other disasters arose through the collision of trains, some resulting from signal box errors when one box had seventy-nine separate levers or at Canonbury Tunnel Nearly five ... trains in a tunnel. Explosion, flooding and fire similarly caused work in the railway tunnels to be some of the most dangerous employment of all occupations.
Rosa Matheson's fascinating book recalls life in mid and late Victorian Britain with its grim reality of the cheapness of human life and the lack of standards adhered to by employers. For just £9.99 the 192-page paperback stuffed with fabulous photos makes an ideal gift for dipping into or researching the story of railway tunnels.